Life of Steel
by Bloodspot
Summary: In 2270, Sarah Lyons starts her official brotherhood training at 18 and will make it all the way to the top. Or will it be the extremly promising recruit who she trains alongside. Will he and his squad stand in her way of her destiny? The two will fight each other for victory but also discover things they didn't know about themselves, maybe they're not so different after all. OC's
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

Life of Steel

 _ **A/N: Ok, I've had this idea swilling around in my head for like 3 years now and with my recent replaying of Fallout 3 and while reading the Modus Operandi Trilogy by comanndocucumber for the first time (I know, I'm ashamed it took me this long to read but that shit is amazing, nearly finished it in 3 days) This story has been begging me to be published. It'll be set over the course of a few years, From 2270 to before the Lone Wanderer story but also after. The outcast split happens in 2276 and I may jump from there to after the Lone Wanderer is an established figure, so late 2277-78. I know, I have a shit way of explaining things.**_

 _ **The reason for the long timeframe is due mainly to the fact that ranks aren't earned so quickly. Like Sarah won't become a Sentinal after two years, by 2272 for example. Also, without giving two much away, the Outcast Split happens six years later, like I said therefore I feel things would beed to be explained and shit, Just stick with it, it'll all make sense in future chapters.**_

Chapter 1: Prelude

In 2254 the brotherhood of steel sent a squad of people to the east coast; Paladin Owyn Lyons has been tasked to find out the cause of the super mutant increase in the country's former capitol city of D.C. This building used to be where the country's former military was stationed and they had planned to use it as a headquarters for the east coast chapter.

The first obstacle encountered by them was Pittsburgh or 'The Pitt' as it had become known to many others since the fall of the bombs. The Brotherhood's actions there are never mentioned; it was with the horrific deaths of hundreds of people, that the remnants of the Western ways died. Many of Lyons' chapter questioned what the brotherhood deemed 'necessary' and this was the last straw. Never again would they be forced to carry out an act of genocide on again. Then again, a good soldier follows orders and that's just what they were doing, following orders. This building used to be where the country's former military was stationed and they had planned to use it as a headquarters for the east coast chapter.

After finding what lied within the pentagon, Paladin Lyons sent word back west to Lost Hills and they had granted him the title of elder of the east coast chapter after the technology they had found in the underground labs of the old military base including Liberty Prime. Liberty Prime was a giant robot that was meant to be used in the liberation of Alaska from the Chinese forces but never got the chance. Since then Liberty Prime has become the pet project of head scribe Reginald Rothchild.

After seeing the horrors of the wasteland, Elder Lyons made it his mission to protect the people of the Capitol wasteland from the super mutant threat thus putting his original mission to collect the regions technology on hold until the wasteland was safe. A few see it as a way for repenting his sins after what happened in The Pitt, a way of trying to fill the hole he had carved inside himself...nonetheless, it was decided and the course they were now on was set in motion. Due to the small number of assets that Lyons party that consisted of: Scribe Rothchild, Star Paladin Cross, Paladin Henry Casdin, Paladin Ishmael Ashur, Night Commander Tristan, Junior Knight Colvin and Junior Paladin Gunny. This was not enough people to secure the Pentagon, which was renamed The Citadel and secure the area from the super mutant threat. In order to get more people to help protect the wasteland, Lyons broke the rules of the brotherhood and started sending teams to local settlements and recruit the best warriors and scientist they had.

News of this did not go un-noticed by the Western Elders. They said that Lyons should be evicted from the brotherhood for breaking the rules. After a long debate the High Elder came to a decision that Lyons' chapter would still be able to continue their mission and be a part of the brotherhood but would not receive any help from the original brotherhood out in Lost Hills.

Many people stepped up and answered the call when the brotherhood came knocking; leaving behind their families and lives to be a part of something bigger, a stronger force. People had their reasons for joining: safety, family, cool tech, no matter what it was, the brotherhood's numbers swelled. It started slowly at first, only allowing a set number at a time. No more than 16 people would be taken on at a time and trained. Those who passed out joined the ranks of the knights and scribes. The washouts were forced to leave and held a personal grudge against the brotherhood from then on.

The initiation training usually takes a set annum to complete due to the lack of initiates not having a single clue about the brotherhood ways or culture. Many got there in the end, going from beaten down wastelanders to skilled militants. The numbers were now on a scale that the eastern coast chapter was now a force to be recognised. True, many had fallen in the field but they were still strong and from the looks of things, with a new initiation annum starting, they could be even stronger.

Our story begins in the year 2270. A new batch of initiates has been selected from the camps surrounding the local area to strengthen the brotherhoods numbers. This group consists of 16 men and women that wanted to join the brotherhood of steel and help them in their mission in the capitol wasteland.

They had all arrived at The Citadel at early hours of the morning and were a few hours into the first day of training. After being kitted out in their set of recon armour, they had received the usual formalities and opening speeches, the training started. Most of them were utterly useless and couldn't stand up straight to save their lives. They were a fairly shit bunch and Gunny was having an extremely bad headache due to how upsetting he found them.

-"You're all worthless you hear me, worthless! I wouldn't let you shine my armour you're all that displeasing! You actually make my ass hairs hurt! I'd be surprised if any of you make it past the first day! Now let's try these drills again" Gunny spat in a sound of utter disgust.

Gunny always had the hard job of perfecting the new wastelanders and honing their skills so they were able to perform to the best of their abilities. His assigned role brought a lot of stress but Gunny wasn't gonna disappoint Elder Lyons. If he trusted Gunny to train them, then train them he would.

The first day had just officially started; the new squad of initiates were led to a set of bunks opposite the entrance, where they changed into the recon armour before falling in, in the middle of the Citadel. Elder Lyons addressed them all with an opening speech that was just there as a brief way of saying where everything was located and a fancy welcome.

The initiates were first off taught things along a Military Knowledge route. Things such as how to address ranking members, how to stand properly while in lessons, what and how to respond when spoken and they were also told of timings that they would run on.

After doing drill for three hours, the initiates started fighting in what was called 'The Ring'. The ring was a small fighting arena in the bailey that was for a two person sparing match but because they were initiates Gunny wanted to see them go full out on each other. They were to fight until one of them gave up or...couldn't speak properly.

Time passed as the new breed of initiates just fell over each other time and time again. Gunny could see he was getting nowhere and it hurt his eyes to see such an embarrassing sight. He shook his head in disbelief as he signalled for the next two to enter and begin fighting. Despite it being the first day, Gunny literally felt as if no one in front of him knew what they were doing. It was usually by this point that he had noticed at least someone who wasn't a complete waste.

Gunny imitated the bell ringing and prepared himself for another piss poor performance but when one of the men punched the other full force in the face, knocking him out in one punch, Gunny smiled at this action, looks like not everyone was completely useless.

-"Yes, Initiate, that is what I want to see" Gunny bellowed as he pointed at the young kid in front of him.

Gunny wasn't so easily swayed. This could have all been a spot of luck for the young man standing in front of him. After all, he only punched someone. Gunny needed to see if he had a keeper. "Now get down and give me fifty!" he yelled.

As all the other initiates looked at each other, all confused, the man just got down and pumped out one push up after another. When the set of fifty was complete, the man stood up and fell back in with the rest of his platoon.

Gunny chuckled before walking up to the man and punching him in the gut. The initiate curled over from the sheer weight of the punch from the power armoured fist but stood right back up and stood tall. "I like you boy, you got a hell of a lot of spunk in you! Maybe the rest of you could learn a thing or two of this little snowflake! What's your name, initiate?" Gunny asked, looking straight into the man's dark blue eyes

-"Initiate Matthew Winter, sir!" He answered back, not meeting Gunny's gaze, just staring straight ahead.

-"Well Winter, you get the lucky job of choosing what weapon you wanna fire first in the rifle practice" Gunny called in a slightly quieter alternative to his drilling bellow.

-"Thank you sir" Matt responded before standing at ease.

His face was gaunt but not in a bad way; it made his cheekbones and jaw stand out prominently. His hair was a light shade of black and styled into a shaggy shave that was noticeable due to the absence of his recon helmet. His skin was a pale shade of white but not so pale that it would cause him to stick out.

Gunny droned on and on about how life in the brotherhood would be different than their previous ones in their home settlements. He talked about the brotherhood codex and how they would have to learn to live by it and how it would govern every action of their lives from here on out.

Matt stopped paying attention when he heard the sound of marching getting closer and closer. Turning his head to the source of the sound, he noticed 16 people in recon armour with R91 assault rifles sloped in their left shoulders with one of their number detached from their ranks calling out 'Left' and 'Right in correspondence with what foot was hitting the floor. They came to a halt in perfect time and turned to face the woman who had been in charge of marching them before taking positions at the Citadel's ranges.

This group intrigued Matt as he wondered who they were. There was such a high level of discipline and professionalism that they all carried when acting out their tasks As if on cue, Gunny stopped talking about the values and standards of the brotherhood and answered Matt's particular thought, as if it were spoken out load.

-"Those there are 16 sons and daughters of serving brotherhood members. Essentially trained from birth, they have been bred with one goal in life: To join the brotherhood of steel as full members. They're also your competition"

-"Competition for what, sir?" A curios initiate asked.

-"Altogether, your 16 and their 16 make 32; 32 initiates and only 16 promotions to be handed out. Now, that's not to say not all of you will get promoted, this is for things in the long run, for ranks such as Senior Knight or Star Paladin for example. Their training started a month before yours. Well, official training anyway. They've been preparing for this for their whole lives but they weren't perfect by any standards. Then again, they were like that after their first week and you guys have that standard to reach...yeah, good luck with that" Gunny responded before gesturing for another two combatants to enter the ring.

 _A week?! There was no way this group of people would be anything like that after a month!_ Matt though as his mouth hung slightly ajar in astonishment.

The fight seemed to be a blur in the background for Matt as his attention was solely focused on the more adept squad of initiates, especially the one who lead them. That's where Matt wanted to be, in a position of leadership. Roles such as Elder or Head Scribe didn't interest him in the slightest. He was a fighter, plain and simple-he also knew a thing or two about battle tactics-growing up in the wasteland with no walls around you had to be good for something.

He watched as the group split down six were at the firing point, three on each side with another six behind them, presumably for spotting or coaching. Five of them were stripping down their weapons, most likely for cleaning before they were fired. Finally, the one who had marched the squad down was walking between the firing posts, talking to each member of the fire teams and their assistants.

She was young, somewhere between eighteen and twenty Matt would guess. She had blonde hair done up all 'Wendy the Welder' and clean white skin. While walking between the two posts, she caught Matt looking at her and their blue eyes locked for a short moment. She tried burning a hole in Matt as if to say 'you should be paying attention' Matt wasn't backing down, he continued to stare, in awe and appreciation more than anything.

* * *

Sarah stared at the dark haired man with eyes of steel; he should be listening to Gunny, not looking at her squad. Sarah had been made the Senior Initiate of her group due to her resilliance and leadership skills and was tasked with carrying out the training set by Gunny to the rest of her squad.

She'd been training her whole life for this; even as a young girl on her fathers knee, Sarah would make sure that when the time comes, she would be ready to show everyone that being the Elder's daughter meant that she got somewhere due to her own skill, not nepotism. It was moments like these that reminded Sarah some scruffy wastelander wasn;t worth her performance. she'd train her squad and get them ready for their lives in the brotherhood. He was just a distraction that probably won't be around for much longer.

Turning back to her original point, Sarah made her way upto the firing position and observed the initiate's shooting and the spotters coaching ability. Sarah would comment on things like how well they were doing and what could be improved. she was a good squad leader and was determined to show it

* * *

One thing Gunny had learned to do over the years was to test their limits. He'd get 'good ones' with every batch he'd train, certain individuals who were better at being a soldier than others. One way to find out who they were was to push them. Go that little harder on them to see if they will continue to step up and show they have the ability.

Gunny had first spotted Winter on his ability to learn quickly; one of the first things the initiates were taught was how to address a ranking soldier properly and with all the formalities that came with it. By addressing Gunny in the appropriate manner was a step in the right direction.

The second trait was he actually knew how to fight, at least with his fists. There was no nonsense, he stepped in the ring ad did what he was told. That was an exceptionally good quality to have in a soldier.

What sealed the deal for Gunny was how Winter did the push ups without question. His situation would have meant the very opposite of a punishment such as them but Winter did them without question. Gunny knew to keep his eye on this one and pass it on to Elder Lyons in the end of day report he'd have to produce.

With a loud call from Gunny, Matt was pulled back to reality and snapped his head over to meet Gunny.

-"Winter, what line of our codex did I just say, repeat it back to me!" Gunny said loudly.

-"Through discourse, we gain the strength of our Brothers' minds" He repeated nonchalantly.

-"Hmmm, seems you can oogle the elder's daughter and listen at the same time. I'd give up now kid, she'd make you eat your balls for breakfast" Gunny couldn't lie, he saw promise in this kid, that didn't mean he was gonna make his training any easier.

As the mid day sky passed shone down, Matt felt his cheeks go red; he wasn't 'oogling' anyone, he was just impressed by the sheer discipline of the other initiates. _Is she really the Elder's Daughter?!_ Matt thought to himself. It would explain her high standards and Matt could see from then on, the Elder's Daughter would be his competition...

 _ **A/N: I know it seemes a bit short but I didn't wanna add anymore to it and risk fucking it up. It seemed like a good place to end the first chapter so I did. The second one should be up either tomorrow or Tuesday for definate though! Please Follow/Favorite, it would mean a hell of a lot and show me I'm doing something right. Also Review so I can inprove on how shit I am, also the feedback would help a great deal aswell. Until next time, I shall see you in the future...well I hope.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Brotherhood

_**A/N:- OK, sorry for the long upload time, stuff happened with work and I had a wedding so yeah. Not making any excuses, it's my fault for not uploading sooner. Well, here's chapter 2 so enjoy. The story may feel like it's going nowhere because I'm still building the foundations of the prequal so to spreak. When I say my stories are long..they be long as fuck.**_

Chapter 2:-Welcome to the brotherhood

Around midday, the new group of initiates would move onto their second training stage, firearms. They would cover things like care and maintenance, safe handling drills and live firing. Gunny talked to them about a manner of bullshit that they'd expect to hear from a military instructor.

It was long winded and most of the initiates found it dead boring, to say the least. Matt knew his way around weapons but figured listening to what the experienced Paladin had to say would be worth it. He had to be there so he guessed that he might as well learn something, there was a good chance there would be something he didn't know.

The lectures were long winded and dragged. First, Gunny started on regular firearms such as the R91 and 10mm. He told them how to clean each part and how to strip and assemble the weapon. He knew that they wouldn't learn everything after one lesson so this was also another test to see who had a form of potential. Gunny figured the ones who wanted to succeed would track him down and ask questions or for additional help. He'd gotten his own system on how to track initiates progress and see who the keepers would be. Winter had already impressed him so far, Gunny hoped it would continue.

As the beating midday sun shone down into the middle of the courtyard, Gunny started on the Laser weapons. Covering things such as the AER9 Laser Rifle and Lazer pistol, the lesson was largely a repeat of the very lesson they had all just sat through, only with the previous two weapons being substituted for Energy Weapons. Again, Matt saw the sensible thing to do and sat throughout the lesson taking in what was said.

Many of the new initiates were becoming restless at this point; then again, they had spent the previous two hours sitting on rubble as Paladin Gunny droned on and on about weapon handling. It got to the point where a few of them started talking over him about their own individual topics. Gunny was not impressed.

-"Oh OK, I see how it is, all you fish don't give a damn what I have to say. You'd rather talk about what you had for dinner instead of actually learning something!" On those words, anyone who was talking had shut up. This wasn't good enough for Gunny however. "Three hundred push ups from all of you, right now" Gunny uttered slowly, making sure everyone heard him clearly.

The group of sixteen initiates quickly dropped and started doing what they were told. Many of them struggled as they reached higher number while others managed to cope surprisingly well. The four or so that actually managed to complete the set did so very slowly and took almost ten minutes

-"You can hate me all you want, but my job is to train you, not to mention I'm a superior rank to you all. You're part of the brotherhood now and you'll play by her rules which means do what you're told, when you're told. Now go eat something, I wanna see you all back here in forty five minutes!" Gunny bellowed as he started sown at the fatigued recruits. "If you're the future of the brotherhood, then God help us all"

The bright sun had been covered by a few clouds that had circled in, shrouding most of the citadel in shadow. The initiates had all scrambled into the surrounding infrastructure, each frantically looking for the mess hall as quick as they could, save the furious wrath of Paladin Gunny.

Matt just sat down on a patch of rubble and started eating a packet of potato chips. As he looked down at his Pip-Boy that was mounted on his left arm, he felt a pair of eyes watching him intensely. Matt looked up and saw this initiate sitting across from him.

The man had long blast backed dark blonde hair and blue eyes. He was a thin man but looked like he had some decent muscle on him. He was about 5ft 8in and had a small nose but large ears that stuck out like a monkey. After a few seconds of Matt looking at this man staring at him with a big smile on his face the man spoke.

-"Hi I'm Simmons, John Simmons" the man extended his right arm out and Matt shook it firmly. "This is gonna sound kinda weird but I was wondering if you'd be able to help me"

-"Help with what?"Matt answered, he had to admit, he was intrigued.

-"Well, from what I've seen, you know how to handle yourself pretty well. Paladin Gunny seems to like you and you were one of the few to complete the set of push ups so I was wondering if you could help me...well, help me be more like you"

Matt had to admit, he was taken aback by the man's request.

-"Well I'm flattered that you think that but you shouldn't see things that way"

-"Wh..whadda you mean?" John asked in a confused manor.

-"Well, everyone is different and we all learn things different ways. The only advice I can give you is to just do what you're told really. If Gunny or anyone more senior than you tells you to do something, do it. If they have something to say, listen to it and if you have any questions, ask them"

-"Ok, I get you, anything else?" John asked, still smiling really enthusiastically.

-" All you have to do is want it and show that you're not just some random wastelander but something else. Show them that you are unique, something that they should count as a privilege to have serving with them, you gotta want to be the best that you can be and to get as far as you can" Matt just blurted out some words to keep this guy happy as he finished eating.

Matt hadn't noticed that a few of the initiates were now looking at him and semi listening to his speech. Matt looked up and saw that everyone was listening to him and this gave him an idea. He may have found a way to get the initiates to actually listen and take things more seriously. _Yeah, let's see how long that lasts_. Matt thought to himself _._ It was interesting to see a few of the initiates wanting to learn something for a change, hell they'd probably been more interested in what half arsed speech Matt had blurted out than what Gunny had been saying all afternoon.

-"So where are you from then?" John asked.

Matt realised he wasn't getting rid of this guy so he decided to embrace it and said:

-"A small camp down west; I was born into a community that lived in an old camp ground area. Life was pretty simple: the caravans were still pretty much intact so that provided shelter, we all were taught how to set traps and snares to catch animals and eat them, went on scavenge runs to trade with local settlements for things such as ammo and Rad Away. Even though those animals were tasty, they were still irradiated to shit. God thing we had an abundance of the stuff to trade" Matt replied in a more friendly tone than he'd been using before with this guy.

-"Oh cool and what else?" John asked. He was genuinely interested in what Matt had to say. He still had that big smile on his face and Matt had to say, he found it weird how one bloke seemed so interested in him. Nonetheless, he continued.

Matt sat up straight and coughed; it was bloody story time. He'd always been taught respect by his parents and knew when to behave and how to act appropriately to nice people. This guy didn't seem bad, just a little forward. He coughed and continued with the story.

-"So, there were nine of us, no ten. There was me and my parents. My mum was like the village doctor and my dad was one of the two, sort of bodyguards, if you will. I was lucky because they both taught me in their particular fields which has given me a great advantage so to say. Then there was this girl Tammy and her dad: he was the closest thing to a chef we had but the way he cooked iguanas...second to none."

-"What about her mother?" John asked, interrupting Matt, again, the smile wider than a valley gorge.

-"She died during childbirth my dad said and considering I didn't know her, I never asked. Though looking back, it seems a bit ignorant of me now"

Before anyone had the chance to continue, Gunny's bellowing voice told everyone their break was over and they all hurried to the centre where they fell in and waited for the Paladin to continue. Matt couldn't lie, it had been nice to see someone take an interest in what he had to say. It made him realise he hadn't spoken to anyone informally since arriving. _Well, at least I have a friend now...I guess._ Matt thought as he tuned into what Gunny was about to say.

-"OK, I'm gonna hand you all two field manuals; one for the R91 assault rifle, and the other for the AER9 Laser Rifle. I expect you all to have adequate knowledge for at least one by tomorrow. If any of you want to live fire, you'll need to know everything in those books. You've all been shown to your bunks so use them, you're up early tomorrow so get some rest, fish. You're all knocked off for the reminder of the evening. Any questions, come find me or any member of the brotherhood, we'll try and help you out. You're a disappointing bunch, prove me wrong!" And like that, Gunny dismissed them.

It took a while for it to sink in but the initiates had the rest of the evening off. Most of them did what was expected and did everything but read the books that they'd need to read. Matt looked at the time on his Pip-Boy and say that it was 4:27. Having just eaten, he figured now would be a good time to start reading before evening meal.

The bed Matt was allocated was located in a concrete structure, not too far from where his lesson had been. His bunk was the first on the top floor, he couldn't complain, he had a roof, a door and 3 out of four walls whereas the poor bastards downstairs had just a roof. _It must get damn cold at nights for them._ Matt though as he sat down and opened the Laser Rifle manual.

The book itself was only about seven pages from cover to cover; it had detailed drawings and descriptions of things such as how to strip the weapon, how to deal with stoppages as well as how to load the bloody thing. Matt had opted for the Laser Rifle because he'd spent all his life dealing with powdered firearms. This was his chance to try something different so he was prepared to learn how to use it.

He was reminded of his childhood and how his parents would sit him down sometimes and teach him things he'd need to know. Things such as English, Maths, basic Science and whatever they thought he'd need to know. Now, all he'd need to know was what to shoot and how to shoot it, funny how growing up changes everything.

Matt longed to be with his family in that settlement again but he'd a duty to fulfil and intended to do it to the best of his abilities. It was no good dwelling on the past, just what he'd need to do to have a good future.

The book wasn't confusing, in fact, Matt was done within an hour. His squad of initiates were allocated themes hall from 5:30-6:00 so now would be a good time to go and get food. He'd come back afterwards and read through the manual again. Practice was always a good thing, especially when learning something new.

Matt could tell that Gunny was stressed and that the fact that the initiates were as about as useful as a pedal powered wheel chair was really making him lose his shit. _Maybe that's why his hair is falling out_ Matt wondered to himself and thought that he should try to make some of them see reason and tell them that if they want to be there than they should act like it. By reading this manual, he'd be able to perform better and show Gunny that there was someone listening to what was being said.

As soon as Matt entered the mess hall, he was met with John's voice in his ears.

-"Hey Winter, come sit with us"

Mat sat down in the booth and was opposite John; there were two other initiates in the booth, one next to him and one next to John and there was two sitting in the booth behind Matt who had leant over their seats to join the conversation. The ones who were sitting behind John also leant over and it was like both halves of the booth were mirroring each other.

The silence was finally broken when one initiate that was sitting on Matt's left side asked him:

-"Hey Winter, a lot of us have been thinking and decided that you are probably the best chance we got at joining the brotherhood and we need your advice. We found that speech you gave at lunch time inspiring and some of us realised that we are gonna need you to become knights or scribes"

Matt had stopped eating and nodded in understandment as to what the man had said and was trying to think of an answer to what had just been said.

-"What's your name kid?" Matt had asked the man who had asked him.

-"Tom. Tom Robinson" Tom had medium length red hair and brown eyes. He was about 6ft and had quite a thin build. He seemed to have a bit of muscle for someone who was thin and a short nose and small ears.

-"Well then Tom, all I can tell you is that all of you can be like go far because all it takes is effort and hard work. You all seem to tell me that I am amazing and make like I'm some sort of super human but I'm not. All I am is a man with The Will. You can be as good as me or even better. Everyone in this room has the potential to become Head Paladin or even Elder but you have got to stop acting like jackasses and take this seriously otherwise you can kiss all of this goodbye because you need to put the effort in to get the rewards out of it. You also need to work as a team aswell do you know why?" everyone shook their heads. "Because team stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. And also you need to get a grip because by doing that you will have a better performance and earn more respect. I respect Johnny here because he has show that he wants to be here and that he tries. Now you heard what Gunny said about the manual so go and read it, learn it and be ready. You can all do this, guys, just put your mind to it and I swear to God if I give any more speeches today, I'll go hug a mirelurk." The group chuckled at what Matt had said before returning to their meals. Let's hope they take on board what's been said.

-"How do you know what team means? And since when did I give you permission to call me Johnny?" John said with a little laugh.

-"I read it in a book. I can read ya know. And since I said that I respected you so I figure that you owe me"

-"OK, I'm glad you did though because Johnny sounds younger and fun than John. Fuck, I'd call my pa John"

Both of them chuckled as they got up and left the mess hall to go to bed. As they got out into the courtyard and to where the beds were Matt saw a bunch of initiates messing around and shouting so Matt said:

-"If you want to have a good performance tomorrow then you will need sleep so rather than fucking about I suggest you get said sleep by going to bed!"

The initiates seemed to acknowledge who said it and when they realised that it was Matt they just stopped shouting and went to sleep. Matt felt proud of himself as he had more evidence as to what the initiates needed to take things more seriously.

-"A lot of these guys respect ya for tryna help us do better" Johnny said as he nudged Matt's arm. "You're a good guy Matt, I hope you can see that"

Johnny's words made Matt smile a little, it was working, it was one thing to put your foot in the door, you had to show you belonged there and people were seeing it from Matt.

It wasn't late but Matt was tired from the long day, most of the initiates were so Matt and Johnny read their respective manuals over and over, quizzing each other on things before falling asleep. The time to shine would be tomorrow.

* * *

Gunny was going over his reports when Sarah Lyons approached him.

-"Sir, what are my squad's orders for tomorrow" She said with a salute.

-"At ease, initiate" Gunny replied. "With the new group of initiates' arrival, I'll be spending the majority of the week with them until they're able to be trained without me babysitting them. I want you to go over Orders with them and rehearse combat engagement drills for the next two days. I'll have more for you then" Gunny replied as he handed Sarah a packet of forms with their orders on. "One of them was staring at you earlier, d'you know that?"

-"I noticed, I bet he's like a fish outta water here, not the right environment for him" Sarah remarked snidely.

Gunny chuckled lightly before saying:

-"Actually, he's the best of the bunch. I'd watch out for him if I were you, he's good"  
-"I highly doubt that, he's an outsider and he's got no idea of our ways"

-"But he's prepared to learn" Gunny looked her straight in the eye as he spoke those words.

Gunny's words hung in the air; Sarah hated the idea of an outsider potentially doing better than her fellow brothers, or worse, herself. She had worked her whole life for this moment and now she was actually on her brotherhood journey and the idea that someone could be better than her was terrifying.

Finally the silence was broken:  
-"Look, Sarah, I know what this means to you. I know how you wanna make your father proud and show him how much you care about his legacy but you shouldn't be so cold. I didn't make you the senior initiate of your squad because you're the Elder's daughter, I did it because you've shown me you know how to lead" Gunny could see the from Sarah's eyes that he was talking to the person, not the soldier. "I believe in you, just keep your head on straight"

And with those words, Sarah promptly saluted and walked away. Gunny knew that Sarah wanted to be the best, knew that she felt like she had to live upto her father. Hell, child of the Elder, those were some big shoes to fill and Sarah wanted nothing more than to show everyone she had what it took.

Sarah couldn't help but feel salty with what Gunny had said; as she walked across the courtyard, the words rang in her mind. _An outsider, better than me_ Sarah though as she sat on one of the many benches that littered the courtyard. It hurt for one big reason; outsiders weren't brotherhood, they knew nothing of how they operated, their lifestyle or their history. They should count themselves lucky that they get to see a Laser Rifle up close and if one of them was better than Sarah, then she mustn't be very good at all.

She knew she'd have to push harder and fight stronger; she knew what she had to so she planned to make sure everyone knew she was here to stay. She knew who Gunny was on about, his blue eyes were something Sarah would never be able to forget. She had to show him who was the best and how things should be done, the brotherhood way.

As if the world knew what she was thinking about, she saw the same guy she'd been thinking about. He was with another man, blonde and they were talking about what weapons they'd like to fire tomorrow. _I bet they have no idea how to load the damn thing_ Sarah thought in spite as she watched the two men head to the wastelander initiate barracks. She hated everything about him, his black hair, his face and that shitty computer on his wrist. He'd learn not to fuck with her soon enough.

* * *

Matt couldn't lie, he was disappointed. When Gunny told them that they wouldn't be doing weapon training until later in their training program, Matt felt a morale boost about to fall, like an old car teeter tottering on a cliff somewhere up north. It made sense though, why would a bunch of untrained wastelanders be given access to firearms only two days into training?! It wasn't practical at all.

Matt was mostly disappointed as he didn't get the chance to see how serious a few of the initiates would have taken him. It would have been a good point to have seen a breakthrough. However, there was an alternative way...the obstacle course.

Gunny had informed the initiates that instead of weapon training, they'd be running the obstacle course. Matt saw this as a way to see if the group he had spoken to realised what he was trying to get across. Today would tell him.

Gunny had led the initiates out of the Citadel's front gates and took them to a small manhole entrance to a Taft Tunnel and told them to climb in and wait for him at the bottom. The initiates looked in awe at the menacing course that laid before them and some of them felt a small shiver creep up their spines as they continued to look at the course.

The course started out as a large climbing net that they had to climb over and get to the other side, this was followed by an 8 tyre run and a jump onto a rope swing that had a 15 meter gap that they had to swing over to get to the crawl. The crawl was a bunch of small stones laid out on the floor with ropes going across the top to stop people sticking their asses out of the top and it went on for 10 metres. The purpose of the crawl was to teach the initiates how to crawl properly and to keep their asses close to the floor. After the craw there was the long path to the finish but it wasn't as simple as just running 50 metres. They had to run 50 metres while dodging falling debris that was being dropped on them by a knight that was tasked with helping Gunny on the obstacle course.

Matt had really wished he had brought his recon helmet because even though it offered little protection from the debris it would be better than nothing. Matt didn't wear his recon helmet because all of the initiates wore theirs and he didn't want to be the same as everyone else. He was trying to find a way show a difference in himself and the rest of the initiates. He also told Johnny not to wear his because Johnny was better than the rest of the initiates and he wanted to show John that they should stand out from the rest.

He was thinking about telling Robinson to take his off because the kid showed promise as well as enthusiasm. Matt wasn't going to tell him yet because he was thought that he would need it for the course and didn't want to tell him to take it off and then get a concussion

-"OK fuck-tards I want one line here and another line here" Gunny said as he split them up into two groups "I want the females to wait separately because you will be going up against each other"

There were only 4 girls in the Platoon of initiates out of 16 but that didn't mean that they were any less capable of becoming part of the brotherhood but Gunny wanted to sort the strong from the weak before he would let them go up against each other.

Matt was one of the first two to start the course and as most of the initiates would have guessed, he finished first. Some of the initiates actually did ok on the course but some were just horrible. A few showed that they were trying but they were still dismal at the course.

When it was Robinson's turn to try the course, Matt made sure to watch to see if he had taken in anything he said. To Matt's surprise, Robinson actually did really well and he even went back to help out his opponent that had gotten stuck on the crawl. This had made Matt think that maybe Robinson was one of the few that could actually take things seriously and that Matt should ask him about what he is hoping to achieve in the brotherhood.

After the obstacle course was done, Matt walked over to where Robinson was sitting and asked him why he wanted to join the brotherhood and Robinson answered with:

-"Well to be honest I am just tired of living in a world where you have to sleep with one eye open or scavenge for your next meal. So in answer to your question the reason that I want to join is so that I might be able to help things go back to the way they used to be"

Matt was happy to see that at least someone had taken what he had said seriously. Robinson had shown determination and the ability to listen when he was being told something. He was young but with proper guidance, could go far. True, it was just one course, but hopefully, he would impress more people than just Matt...when the time is right. Matt decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and told the kid to take off his recon helmet. Looks like he'd accidentally started the formation of his own splinter group.

While they were having their lunch break, Matt was approached by many of the initiates in his platoon asking him if they did well and to which Matt just replied:

-"As long as you did your best then it's not down to me if you did well but down to yourself"

In all honesty, he could see that all of them had significantly improved over the last two days and was glad they saw him more as a teacher of sorts. Someone to help them along the way, who was nothing special.

While they were having their lunch break, Matt was approached by many of the initiates in his platoon asking him if they did well and to which Matt just replied:

-"As long as you did your best then it's not down to me if you did well but down to yourself"

Matt was looking around for Johnny to talk to him about Robinson. He found him with a big smile on his face

-"What's got you in such a good mood?"

-Well; there is this girl that I was talking to while you gave another one of your 'speeches' and to be honest, I think that she likes me"

-"What makes you say that"

-"The fact that she was laughing at all my jokes and being nice to me"

-"That's not much to go on"

-"Yeah but giving the fact that she said that she found me funny and wanted to talk to me again kind of gave it away"

-"Whatever you say dude. Now back to what I actually wanted to talk to you about; remember that kid yesterday that came onto me at dinner time?"

-"Hang on, hang on I got it...Tom"

-"Yeah that's the one, I think that he is someone who takes this seriously"

-"What makes you say that?"

-"The story he told me and the fact that he keeps asking me for advice. Anyway I told him to take his recon helmet off so we know that he is one of us"

-"One of us?" John said with a hint of confusion in his voice.

-"You know what I mean Johnny, the ones that listen and do things properly"

-"Ohhhh yeah." Johnny then started chanting. "One of us, one of us" Matt smiled before nudging his friend playfully. Johnny was the one responsible for the humour in the duo and Matt was thankful it was there.

 _ **A/N:- I know, I can't write for shit but I'm trying to cpature the personalities of the characters in these early chapters before I do anything serious with them. Be a dear and Follow/fave and Review :) Any questions, PM me, I'll get back to you ASAP. Chapter 3 will be out in less than a week. hopefully tomorrow, if not, it'll be out by no later than Sunday.**_


	3. Chapter 3: III

_**A/N:-OK, a sort one that focuses more on the developemnet of the sub plot that'll work its way into the story later down the line. Any Chapters that have Roman Numerals as their title are set on a different timeline that the ones that just have regular names. I know I'm confusing and it's ok to hate me.**_

Chapter 3: III

The air was thick with smoke and dust as Paladin-Commander Morgan loaded a fresh microfusion cell into his laser rifle from his crouched position behind a chunk of rubble. His platoon had been victim of a super mutant attack and were outnumbered 10/1. His Power Armour was severely dented as well as covered in the blood and remains of his brothers.

He had been tasked with defending a key location in the D.C ruins that became known as Liberty Pass. The pass was the only direct route out off downtown D.C and into the rest of the crumbling wasteland, therefore, the brotherhood saw defending it as a high priority.

-"Orders Sir!" A voice called out from Morgan's right. Turning his head to follow the origins of the sound, he found himself staring at Knight Captain Swain, who was crouching up against his own piece of debris, hugging it tightly for cover.

-"We hold here until Paladin Mosley's group hit's their flank! Then in the commotion, we counter attack and drive them back!" Both men had to shout over the sound of gunfire, mutant roars and bullets hitting the rubble they were using as cover.

Swain's helmet lay in scorched on the ground beside him, courtesy of an Overlords Tri-Beam laser rifle. His dark white skin was on display that had the lines of an experienced soldier as well as a pair of tired brown eyes. He'd been on the front lines for a long time.

Blood, gore and crater-holes littered the brotherhood's little defilade; they fighting hard against the super mutant onslaught that never seemed to end. The brotherhood could only shoot down so many. With four beams of laser coming out from the rubble, it wasn't much to hold back the sea of green that was making its way slowly forward.

-"It's been too long, Sir, Mosley's group likely didn't make it. We need to fall back!" Swain yelled as a fellow brotherhood soldier ran behind him in an effort to protect the left flank.

-"Negative, we need to hold the pass, it's too important to lose. We have our orders!"

-"Frank,- Arnett, Derby and Peirce are dead and Drakin is wounded badly. If we don't leave now, we're all dead!"

Swain was right; they had lost a majority of their defence force in the initial assault and it had been close to 20 minutes since Mosley's unit left to flank the mutants. The mutant swarm seemed endless; they attacked the pass often but never in a number quite like this.

There was only about 200 or so but they had surprised the brotherhood force with a mass of explosions and strongly wounded their unit. The problem wasn't letting this group of super mutants through; it was the numbers that would come after them. With no one to hold the Pass, they'd just seep through like water from a tap and would wreak havoc on the people of outer D.C.

Super mutant presence was very limited outside of the DC ruins but if they somehow managed to use the Pass to get larger numbers out of the ruins, there would be a very big problem to deal with.

-"We need to hold this Pass, Manny! If we leave, the greenskins have a direct line from here to the Citadel and anywhere else in the wasteland. Elder Lyon's tasked us with keeping them off our front door and that's what we're gonna do! Just sit tight and Mosley's squad will.." He was cut off as a stray missile flew over his cover and exploded on a nearby ruined building

-"Keira's gone, Frank! She'd have hit them ages ago and it's been close to half hour. If we don't leave now, we'll all end up the same!"

The Paladin-Commander tired to process a thought but all he could hear was the mutant's cynical laughter, weapons being fired and explosions. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place: Retreat and let the mutants through or die fighting them off and they still get trough anyway.

-"We leave, they're presence in the wasteland triples, the Citadel can survive a siege but with the opening here, Behemoth's will be able to knock over our walls like a breeze in the wind! Then what about the rest of the locals?! They're relying on us and we can't leave them like pigs to the slaughter!"

The sound of a fellow brother crying out indicated that their four was now down to three. The mutant's were advancing, circling around them and closing them in. The three remaining soldiers consisted of Morgan and Swain and the Knight-Sergeant protecting the right flank. All of a sudden, a terrible and bellowing "ROAR" could be heard.

-"You had to mention Behemoths, didn't" Swain never did get to finish his snide comment as a frag grenade flew over the top of the rubble and landed in between him and Morgan. The two only had time to look up from it and at each other before the world went black.

 _ **A/N:- Ok, just to clear up: There isn't a mutant army attacking this possition, just an overly large group of mutants.**_

 _ **If the brotherhood contingent lost, the mutants wouldn't all come through at once, but over time, they'd be able to acces outer D.C far easier than before, therefor meaning more super mutants in the wasteland.**_

 _ **Yes, more will be explained in later chapters (for anyone who cares)**_

 _ **Have you ever noticed how you can't actually reach inner D.C on foot in the game?! you have to take metro tunnels or sewers or some shit due to collapsed buildings being in the way etc etc. The Pass serves as a way in which individuals would be able to openly walk in and out of Downtown D.C without the need to triverse too much ground. Since Downtown D.C is overrun with super mutants and their insatibal need to capture people to make more super mutants, it seems only logical that they'd want an easier way to acces like 70% more of the wasteland.**_

 _ **I hope you all see where I was coming from, yes I know, I'm confusing and it sucks. Any questions, PM me and I'll try to soet it out. Fave/Follow, it would mean a lot and Review so I can see how much you all hate me. Next chapter is on its way.**_


	4. Chapter 4: Progress

Chapter 4: Progress

The cold wind whistled through the small brick structure the initiates used for shelter in the nights. It was cold and many initiates would struggle to find sleep if they weren't so fatigued after their rigorous training. Sarah Lyons however, couldn't sleep for a different reason.

Sarah felt off, something was just gnawing at her and no matter how many times she tried to close her eyes, they would just open again. Sarah found solace on a bench in the courtyard as she breathed in the frosty air. Sentries adorned the Citadels high walls but the bailey courtyard was empty, deserted, dead.

Sarah enjoyed the comforting silence it offered, it gave her time to think and clear her head. She was able to focus on more pressing matters like the training of her section of initiates and how to deliver Gunny's teachings in the most efficient way possible.

The thoughts on what to do scrambled over each other inside her head, fighting to emerge victorious and be the chosen path that she would take. Sarah's though process was extremely complicated which is why the silence was a good addition...until she heard the sound of a stone hitting something.

Sarah's combat instincts took over and she immediately jumped up off the bench and turned to where the noise came from. The seconds felt like hours as she waited and sure enough, the sound came again. Sarah slowly approached to where it was coming from, ready for anything.

Despite searchlights being placed on the upper balconies of the Citadel, the Bailey was in total darkness. Any number of unpleasentries could be watching her as she stumbled around aimlessly in the dark. She just prayed her finely tuned senses would lead her to the source of the noise soon.

Depending on her auditory sensor, her ears, Sarah honed onto where the vague sound came from and slowly advanced through the darkness that surrounded her on all sides.

As she continued forward, the sound become louder and more frequent; it became clear that it was stone hitting stone. As she got closer, the darkness became more visible and so did the boot, then the leg and eventually the person they belonged too. Sarah saw the last person she ever expected to see, yet it made total sense that she would see him out of all people.

Initiate Matthew Winter was sitting on a pile of rubble, throwing smaller chunks of it down onto the larger pieces. His right knee was up under his chin with his right arm draped over it while his left leg hung idly off the brick mound, slowly swinging back and forth while his left hand gently tossed small chunks of rubble onto the already desecrated ground. An AER9 Laser Rifle lay in between his legs as he read the pages over and over again. His arm only ceasing to throw something when he turned a page.

Sarah felt her mind relax as she processed the man before her as a fellow initiate and not a threat, well, not a threat like she initially pictured. The darkness and his black hair made it hard to see the facial features but Sarah knew it wouldn't be anybody else. The seconds passed as Sarah watched him not take his eyes away from the book. She was about to wonder if he knew she was there when:

-"Can't sleep either?" Matt muttered, still focused on the book.

-"My mind is...occupied" Sarah replied, not moving a muscle. "How'd you know I was here, you haven't taken your face off that book?" She asked.

-"True, but I don't need my eyes to hear you breathing"

Sarah felt her face redden as she realised how clumsy she had been and forgot to check her breathing. Something as simple as that should automatically be controlled whenever in a stealthy environment. She scorned herself internally as she looked at the floor, desperate to avoid Matt's gaze, should he look up from the book between his legs.

-"Why are you reading that book now, shouldn't you have read it before Gunny's lesson?" Sarah was desperately trying to turn the focus off of herself.

-"I did, yesterday, seven times; since our lesson was postponed, I figured a little revision wouldn't hurt and since that building is colder than a witches tit, I wasn't gonna get some sleep any time soon"

-"But...aren't you tired from all the training like everyone else?" Sarah asked as she moved slightly forward without realising.

-"Aren't you?" Matt said in response as he looked up and turned to the left to face Sarah who stopped dead in her tracks.

-"I, uh, Training isn't so hard for me, I'm used to it by now" She said in a quick reply. Matt's gaze seemed to stare right into her soul. Those could blue eyes looking right through her and yet, his facial expression seemed totally normal...he was just...looking at her, like he'd look at anyone else.

-"There's your answer, you don't find training so tiring, and neither do I" Matt replied as he slid himself down off the rubble, book in hand and found himself face to face with Sarah Lyons for the first time.

Sarah had to admit she was confused; every other initiate wastelander always had a stupid grin on their face whenever they talked to a member of the brotherhood but Matt, Matt just stared at her like she was another person and not some shining knight who would ride in and save the day. No one had ever looked at her like that before.

Matt coughed to bring Sarah back into reality; she didn't realise she'd zoned out while on her train of thought.

-"I bet you think you're something special, don't you!" Sarah responded with unnecessary hostility.

-"Excuse me?" Matt said as his face formed into one of disgust"

-"Out in the night brooding, not feeling tired from physically demanding training and not seeming impressed when you look at us"

Matt stared Sarah down before firing back:

-"I'm not tired because I'm used to shit like this, I'm not impressed because I've done more as a child that any of you ever have. You didn't grow up without walls or numbers to protect you, you didn't need to hunt and scavenge for food and I bet you never went three days without water because you let a 4 year old girl have the last bottle instead of yourself. Don't talk down to me Sarah Lyons because everything you'll end up doing, I've already done and I was far younger than you!" They were inches away from each other as Matt leaned in closer. "You moved to the wasteland and I grew up in it. You've been sheltered from the cruel realities almost all your life whereas I've been living on the fringe, never knowing which day would be my last. So before you start thinking you know anything about me, realise I grew up in this hellhole and you've yet to experience it. Sure, you know what's out there but knothing like I do!"

Silence followed as Matt stared strong eyed at Sarah, refusing to back down. Sarah seemed humiliated because she knew he was right. Her eyes had been opened as she realised the local conscripts grew up in the wasteland and didn't live this long by hiding. She felt ashamed as to how close minded she had been. _Realise more things about the local conscripts, do your homework._ Sarah noted mentally.

-"You're right, I never thought...I'm sorry"

-"It's fine, I shouldn't have expected you hermits to understand anyway, well now you do. Don't be so quick to count us wasters out, we've been here longer than you" Matt's tone was less hostile now, a complete personality change.

-"So, are you the Senior Initiate in your section?" Sarah asked, changing the topic yet again.

-"I didn't even know there was one of those" Matt replied as he eased off her, taking a more relaxed stance.

-"Gunny appoints a Senior Initiate to each section to ensure someone can keep control of them whenever he's not around. They're like his go to person when he needs to know something from the group but hasn't been able to be there. Like for example, he's been training you guys for the past couple of days so our Senior Initiate is responsible for looking after us, making sure we get taught what Gunny wants and stick to our timetable. It's a bit of responsibility to help ease them into leadership. It's usually someone Gunny can see having a bright future in the brotherhood"

-"Lemme guess, you're the Senior Initiate of your group?" Mat asked as he folded his arms into a relaxed stance.

-"Yeah, I guess you noticed" Sarah said, letting out a meek little smile. "Don't think it was given to me or anything just because I'm the Elder's daughter!" She protested imeidietly.

-" I wouldn't think that for a second; You were the first thing I noticed. You've had to work hard to prove yourself for two reasons: you're the Elder's daughter, like you said and because you're a girl. You wanna show everyone you're able to get somewhere on your own merits, that's what caught my eye on my first day"

Sarah was taken aback by what Matt had just said.

-"You're the first person to finally see what I've been struggling with my whole life...I don't know what to say"

-"Don't say anything, just don't stop fighting" And with those words and a smile, Matt took his leave and made his way to the initiate building.

Sarah didn't know how to feel, Matt had not only been the first person to see her problem, but also the first person to openly understand it. _Maybe I was wrong about him?!_ Sarah thought to herself as she thought about everything he said in those past few minutes, he was a really dedicated soldier and the only other person Sarah had seen put that much commitment in was herself. She had been so quick to judge him and why?! Stupidity, Jelousy, who knew for sure. All that she had learned from their chat was this initiate was a lot more open minded that she's originally percived. Maybe he was special...

* * *

The morning was cold and wet; the post-apocalyptic rain was like ice on the skin of the initiates as they were knee deep in radio-active muck outside The Citadels main walls.

Gunny had them working in small units of four as they carried heavy objects as fast as they could around The Citadel. It was hard work and the shitty weather didn't make it any easier. The claps of thunder and the water pounding away at the ground were masked by Gunny's bellowing words as he competed with the weather to be the loudest.

Matt, Johnny, Robinson and their fourth addition, Tank, were carrying a cargo net filled with six large boulders around the outer perimeter of The Citadel. Each group had some form of heavy object that was that they had to lug around and the fact that Matt's group had a massive as fuck black dude with them didn't make it any easier.

Tank was exactly what his name said. Standing at 7 feet tall, his dark skin caked in shit, just like every other initiate had caught Matt's eye and was making stellar progress with his training. His big build was little help in the task as the group of initiates struggled to keep moving.

-"Come you barrels of monkey spunk, don't let a bit of bad weather slow you down. What if this was an injured brother of yours and his life depended on you getting him somewhere safe. Would you moan and complain, or would you carry his heavy ass and keep him alive? Now keep moving!" Gunny screamed at his charges as they carried on moving.

He had to admit, there was a drastic improvement in their attitude over the past week. His initiates had been trying a lot harder in most tasks and their performances showed it. A week ago, Gunny would have expected them to give up once they fell over in the mud but they all kept getting back up. They were a hell of a lot more determined.

-"Matt, we're only half way and we've been at this for too long, I feel like my arms are gonna fall out of their sockets" Johnny said as he struggled to maintain his grip on the net.

-"Yeah man, I feel like the floor is made outta jelly" Robinson chirped in.

-"Come on guys we can do this, we've done one half so we just need to do the same thing again. I have faith in you guys, in all of us" Matt replied in an effort to keep the spirits of his group up.

-"Matt's right boys, we just need to redo what we've just done. We've done it once, we can do it again" Tank's voice was low and husky to match his appearance yet it was quiet and soft in its own weird way.

Each group had been performing the same; it was a test of mental strength as well as physical. They were all struggling to carry the heavy load but they were all still doing it. They all wanted to stop and get into the dry but none of them had. Gunny was pleased with this and wanted to see them all complete the task.

The four groups had continued in the order they had started; no one had overtaken the group in front of them. It wasn't a test of speed, it was more about character.

The first two groups had gone the full 360 and were back at The Citadel gates. Matt's hair clung to his face in the rain and along with the water, greatly impaired his vision. Struggling to see, they were all acting on instinct and trusting each other to guide themselves. When not talking, the only other sounds that could be heard was them panting loudly and madly.

-"Come on now Winter, the finish line is a gnat's cock away, don't give up now you sorry sack of shit!" Gunny screamed. "You boys are doing well, don't let yourselves down now!"

It was true, they were no farther than a couple of yards away from Gunny and the other worn out initiates from the first two groups.

The rain was hammering down heavy and the ground was becoming even more slippery. Matt could hear his friends gasping for breath as they drew ever more closer to their goal.

-"Come on lads, dig deep, one last push and we won't have to carry this shit ever again!" Johnny called out as the group screamed in acknowledgement and started to run the final ten or so metres to the end of their brutal training course.

Just like that it was over; the four men dropped the net and fell to the floor. The harsh weather, mixed with the overbearing weight had taken its toll on not just them, but all the initiates.

Matt regained his footing and his breath after what seemed like forever and leant against the edge of The Citadel. He looked at each of his four friends and they all laughed. It was finally over.

-"I have to say, you bastards gave a hell of a lot just now and I'm proud of each and every one of you. Catch a breath, god knows you've earned it. As soon as the final group get here, we can move on.

Minutes passed before the fourth and final group of initiates was spotted ascending the final slope, just about 50 metres away from the finish. All the initiates were cheering them on and screaming a manor of positivity at them. It brought a smile to Matt's face...and then it happened.

Halfway up the slope, the man on the group's right slipped in the mud and dropped his section of the net. The contence consisted of various parts of rubble from The Citadel's walls and it had all landed on the initiate's body.

Without thinking, Matt jumped up and ran to their aid; he assisted the other initiates in pulling the rubble off their brother and then picked him up in a fireman's carry. His left leg was bust open and his arm looked no better, he wouldn't be able to carry on.

Without waiting for an invitation, Johnny and Tank ran over to help the remaining three initiates carry their net to the finish line. The rocky contence had been sprawled all over the betraying floor. The tretrious weather had messed them up bad but with Tank and Johnny's help, they quickly collected themselves and headed to the finish.

This was the most intense moment in Matt's life; the only thing going through his mind was getting his brother to Gunny and the rest of the initiates. Blood dripped down from the man's bleeding skull and onto Matt's own head. It felt warm in comparison to the small monsoon they had spent the better part of an hour in. Struggling to find his footing, Matt made his way forward as fast as he could. Whatever strength he had left in his body was all going on carrying his fellow initiate.

For the second time, Matt crossed the finish line only this time, it was with a body, not debris. His lungs were screaming at him as he finally set the wounded initiate down against the framework of The Citadel door. The initiates crowded around Matt and their fellow brother before Gunny made his way passed them all.

-"That was some balls shit, Winter, thanks to you this maggot will be able to see the sun again"

Matt couldn't find words to say, the only thing that escaped his mouth were raspy noises as he struggled for breath. He was knackered, the training exercise had certainly taken its toll on him and combined with the weather, Matt felt exhausted. He tried to stand but fatigue engulfed him, causing him to slip and fall back down on the muddy ground. As the rain crashed all around him, Gunny realised two people would be taken to the medical wing today.

 _ **A/N:-Ok, I have to admit, this chapter felt a little empty. I feel like I could have done a much better job but I just can't seem to find the words. I'll come back to it when my mind is much more relaxed. The point I'm trying to get across with the second half of the chapter is that the initiates are learning and developing their skills. There's still a long way to go but it's a start.**_

 _ **Again, Review, Follow/Fave and leave any positive pointers you can to help me improve. Awayyyyyy**_


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